Tuesday, March 30, 2010

My friend, Joy, brought this meal to us after my daughter was born and I loved it so much, I asked her for the recipe the next day! It's super simple and certainly a budget-friendly dish. We enjoyed it with these carrots.

Melt butter in an oven safe large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the sherry, and simmer for 1 minute. Add the cooked chicken, chicken broth, barley, and basil; bring to a boil over high heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and boil for 5 minutes.

Cover the Dutch oven, and place into the preheated oven. Bake until the barley is tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in chopped parsley before serving.

Place carrots and shallots in nonstick skillet, and heat over medium heat. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, or until beginning to brown.

Stir in honey, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Partially cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 15 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Uncover, stir in vinegar, and increase heat to medium-high.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add bacon and cook until browned and almost crisp, about 4 minutes. Add onion and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, breaking them up as you go, and season with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, 15 minutes.

Add sauce and pasta water to pasta and toss to combine; cook over medium-high until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate 3 cups pasta for Friday. Serve remaining pasta topped with Parmesan and parsley.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

I followed the directions exactly from Simple Bites on How to Make the Best Muffins Ever and they were delicious! There are lots of fun suggestions for add-ins. I chose blueberries and white chocolate chips. Mmmm. It took longer than suggested for my muffins to bake - almost 25 minutes.

Be sure to read the recipe all the way through before getting started. You will note that the oats soak in the milk 1 hour prior to assembling the rest of the ingredients, so take that into consideration before starting out.

Use a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake until light brown and tops spring back when gently touched, about 10-12 minutes. Note: Muffins will take slightly longer to bake if you are adding fresh fruit such as blueberries or rhubarb.

Remove from oven and cool in tins. To remove, run a sharp knife around the edges and pop muffins out. Enjoy!

*You may also substitute 1 cup buttermilk, and then omit the vinegar from the recipe.

Add quinoa and water to a medium sauce pan. Bring to boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Drizzle with olive oil and then add the rest of the ingredients.

Monday, March 8, 2010

No picture to accompany this recipe (I couldn't get one that made it look even remotely appetizing), but just trust me that it looks like an orange stew and it's worth making! The lemon juice at the end really adds a nice tang.

Sprinkle pepper on the meat. In a large skillet (with tight-fitting lid), heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil. Add the meat and cook over medium heat, stirring, until all the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook stirring, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add tomato paste, paprika, boullion, cloves, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring until the mixture begins to caramelize. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a low simmer. Simmer until the meat is tender, about 40 minutes.

Add the squash, carrots, beans, tomato, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt (I ended up using closer to a full teaspoon), and enough water to just cover the ingredients. Cover and cook until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Using a ladle, pull off as much liquid as you can into a deep container. Add about 1 cup of cooked veggies and the lemon juice. Puree using a stick blender (or electric mixer). Pour back into stew - and you're ready to serve!

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a small bowl mix the onion, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and water, and pour over the chicken. Add bay leaves. Cook on Low for 6 or 7 hours. Shred chicken with two forks. Cover again and cook for another 2 or 1 hours. Serve over coconut rice.

Coconut Rice

One can of coconut milk1 1/2 - 2 cups water2 cups white rice

Combine the rice, water and milk in a pot with a lid. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, 30-40 minutes. Makes about 4 cups of rice.

This got rave reviews from our friends at community group who devoured it after dinner. I think it was a combination of amazement that you can actually make a cake in a crockpot combined with the ooey gooey chocolatey mess! I left mine in for the full 8 hours and the bottom and sides got a little crusty/burned.

Stir in the broth, bring to a boil, then stir in the lentils and rice. Simmer, partially covered, for about 45 minutes or until the rice is very tender, and not at all toothsome. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking on the bottom. After about 45 minutes, the lentils will have collapsed into a thick slop of sorts. If you need to add more water/broth at any point do so a splash at a time, until the soup thins out to the point you prefer.

Unless you used a salty broth, you will likely need to salt generously, until the the soup no longer tastes flat. Do so just a bit at a time. Serve each bowl topped with almonds, olives, feta, and a slight drizzle of olive oil if you like.

I am the wife of an amazing man, mother of three precious children, and enjoy filling our home with good food for all to enjoy! I love trying new recipes and am especially excited when I find something packed with whole foods that everyone loves. I try to be aware of the nutritional value of what we eat, but won't shy away from a good dessert every now and then. I hope you enjoy this site and find a few new things to try out for yourself. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!